Whales, Ranches, Beaches, Mountains, and Mud

# Fast Facts

• Personnel: Chuck and Judy. Canon Tajo climbers from 1970's to
  1990's. BCS tourists since early-1990's. Judy drove her Chevy Vega to Oaxaca in 1973.
  
• Vehicle: 2002 Toyota Tundra SR-5 4WD TRD, stock drivetrain, BFG KOs. Four Wheel Hawk camper.
  
• Gas Prices: 21.99 to 24.89 pesos / liter. Dollar gets 16-18 pesos in gasolineras.
  
• Road Conditions: Mostly smooth, but with gotcha potholes even on
  the best streches. Some really bad intervals east of Lazaro Card##as
  (Ruta 3). North of Laguna Hanson there are treacherous mudholes for
  some miles.
  
• Whales: Hoped for a good day. We had one.
  
• Military Checkpoints: Few checks, no inspections.
  
• Ambiance: Lots of growth, but Baja is still a great experience
  
• Gifts: Biggest hits were weatherproof binoculars --- great for
  spotting livestock, LED headlamps --- for evening chores, and
  earrings. Judy brought a good supply of each as well as special
  gifts slated for special people.
  
• Dates: Mar 13 - 29, 2023
  

# Day 1

Filled out the FMM in El Chaparral Aduana this time --- paying online
requires signing up for an another f-ing account with lotsa
personal details I am not gonna disclose for a one-off purchase.

Gassed up in Ensenada and again in San Quintin. Got all the way to Santa Ines being waved thru
the military checkpoints. Didn't see Ralph. I guess he rounded earlier
and seeing nobody did not bother to check the campground the next
morning. 40-ish lady at the Ranch said he was in residence and still
helps folks as needed.

# Day 2

Smooth sailing to Guerrero Negro. Waved thru the checkpoint north of
Jesus Maria. Few potholes in the road, but it is a suckers game --- you
get complacent and WHAM ("Where did THAT come from?")

Tacos del Muelle food truck was still serving good fish tacos and
doing a brisk business. Gas about 25 pesos per liter --- most expensive
we saw. GN seems much bigger and busier than ever.

Arrived at Parque Nacional de Ballena Gris and camped at Palapa 3
(27.74861° N, 114.01283° W). Too breezy for good whale watching, but
the gate guard said it had been calm in the early morning.

Coyote was scrounging handouts, we think, but got none.




# Day 3

Light wind --- not ideal for whale watching but we went for it and were
richly rewarded. BTW, the price is now 55 US dollars per adult. I
expect the higher prices for fuel (and whatnot) can be blamed.



Fueled up in Vizcaino and topped up water jugs, then headed on for San
Francisco de la Sierra. In the mid-90s we drove there during rains in
our standard drive Dodge Van and it seemed like an adventure. Now with
4-wheel drive irt is smooth pavement most of the way and the remaining
miles have a new roadbed and will soon be paved. Feel free to drive
your RV up there. Big turnout at Cueva Raton. Also note, we were told
(by Cuco Arce) that you no longer need to check in with INAH in San
Ignacio to access cave paintings in the Canyon --- it is all handled by
radio telephony from San Francisco.

We camped behind Cuco and Maria Santana's house. They now have a steel
corral and Victor Alonso (Cuco's son) drove in with a truck of cattle
that were unloaded into the corral. It is essentially a feedlot where
alfalfa is used to fatten the cows up for export through Mexicali. The
surrounding vegetation is too sparse for cattle to range.




Future Burgers of America. Get fat, go North.



Except for the T-shirt and clothes, this could have been 100 years ago.

# Day 4

Angel (Victor's 13 year old son) drove us up to Rancho Palo Rayo where
Anglina (Cuco's daughter) lives with her husband Alexi and two
daughters. Angelina fed us a beef soup and fixins for lunch while we
chatted.

We walked to the overlook for Rancho Guadalupe and noted that it has
definitely grown since our last visit at least a decade ago. Palo Rayo
was once just a single family and is now growing to several. The
government has a housing assistance program (I think just for rural
areas) that seems generous --- you get a house made of `cinder blocks'
(CMUs) reinforced by rebar and concrete corners with reinforced
concrete beams overhead and finished with a layer of concrete. Floor
plans are negotiable, so you can get 2 or 3 bedrooms, kitchen,
family room, laundry, and bathroom depending on needs. Cuco's two
older sons and daughter each have such a house under construction.

We spent the evening in Cuco's family room with some family members
and a friendly cat and dogs.




The contrast between old and new always strikes me. Modern machines and WiFi on the one hand and horsemen and burros teams on the other.




Murals seem to be gaining popularity in Mexico. The part of this mural shows Teresa milking a goat. FWIW, the quality of the local cheese seems ever better --- I enjoyed a slice of it back home today.




In October 2002, this was the local chapel where St. Francis day was celebrated. We showed up while Padre Tonino was ringing the bell. He liked us enough to sketch my profile before Mass. A new and larger chapel is at the edge of town.

# Day 5

We left San Francisco late morning and headed for Rancho El Diamante
(27.47888° N, 113.05454° W) which is the new name for the ranch now
owned by Manual Alfonso Arce, who tells me that it has been a ranch
since 1806. He nows occupies some older dwellings but he and his
brother each have a government subsidized house under construction. We
passed Manual and Ovaldo (son) who were going to get some alfalfa and
conduct business near Tres Virgenes. The ranch is just 12 miles from
km 101 on Route 1, but it took more than 1.5 hours for us to drive
there. The ranch sits along an arroyo that has a forest of trees and
cactus and provides reliable water to the ranch, and the biome is
suitable for grazing cattle. The construction worker was busy at
Victor's house and had to move a wheelbarrow of concrete for us to
drive through the gate. Manual and Victor now have a modest herd, a
bull, a burro, and some goats.

We dined with Chela (Manual's wife), Manuel, Ovaldo (son), `Suzi'
(Guadalupe Jesus, the daughter) and Ruben (the worker, who cannot
commute given the isolation of the ranch) at their table.






The next day Victor looks on while the architect checks on Ruben's work.

[Edited on 4-6-2023 by ChuckB]

Hey Chuck,
Excellent trip report, thanks for posting! Good to hear from you.
Saludos amigo.

Here's ChuckB at Cañón del Tajo in the 1980s, making overhanging crack look easy. (Chuck, if you want the photo taken down, just let me know).

continuing ...



# Day 6

After breakfast, Victor arrived with Angel (son) and the architect
supervising the construction. The brothers and Angel set about tagging
and earmarking some of the calves. Ovaldo milked goats. Suzi chatted
us up; she likes living at the ranch and at age 15 is still in school
on-line. A lot of folks came to hate on-line learning during the
pandemic, but for a child at a remote ranch who has an active mind it
is a big plus.



The road might be rough but the scenery is very fine.

We said our goodbyes late morning and headed off for Don Chano's
Campground in Mulege topping up fuel in San Ignacio. We dined at the restaurant there and were
satisfied with the fare.

# Day 7

Playa Santispac was our plan, but the crowd of RVs and the dearth of
vacant palapas pushed us to go south to Playa Coyote where we snagged
the last vacant palapa east of the pinch in the road. The family in
the next palapa was from Vizcaino and their daughter was stuck by a
stringray. We applied hot water to the wound. A Mexican Family
Physician in training stopped by and insisted that applying urine to
the wound is a miracle cure citing some medical guru he says proved it
beyond any doubt. I am a retired biostatistican with 45 years
experience debunking claims like that. I am happy to say that no urine
was used, but many jokes about it ensued. The pain gradually eased.

I inflated my kayak and paddled out to the rocks off the island 1 mile
ENE of the beach. Nice calm weather till late. Judy is recovering from
rotator cuff issues and could not kayak, but had a good day beach walking
and catching up with old friends and making new ones.

# day 8




Dawn at Playa Coyote.


More kayaking and Playa Coyote living. We left camp mid-afternoon to
take Miguel Garcia - well-known to beachgoers as the Oaxacan seller of
hand woven rugs - and his son's (Jesus) family to dinner. Jesus is
installing a loom in his shop and will focus on weaving; he has done
some outstanading carvings (alebrijes) but the scarcity of the right
materials and vast competition from other carvers was discouraging.

Being Monday we had few choices and headed Las Casitas. The decor and
ambience are awesome. The food gets a mixed review. The arrachera
(steak) was nicely seasoned, very tender and ample, but the baked
potato was topped with margarine. All-in-all an enjoyable meal with
old friends (we met on the beach years ago and visited their homes and
the family's Mescal distillery in Mitla OX in recent years).

# days 9-10

Hanging out at Playa Coyote. On Wednesday the wind came up, so
paddling 1 mile over to point due North felt like a good effort for my
sorry old carcus.

# day 11

Off to Loreto bearing goods for folk in Puerto Agua Verde. We didn't
want to go all the way to Agua Verde, so we arranged to meet a
go-between in Loreto - the daughter and niece of friends. But first, a stop for gasoline. She caught
up with us at El Pescador - a well stocked super market and one of our
favorite shopping experiences. Then we went to Playa Juncalito for the
night - miraculously, the strong breeze just died.

# day 12

Drove to San Ignacio and camped in Los Petates, which was ruined by 8
feet of water during the October rains. Repairs proceeding. Karl and
Eileen Willm were camped next to us. (We met them last fall in Mitla
Oaxaca at a fiesta honoring San Judas Tadeo as guests of Jesus
Garcia.) They said the campground owner was hit by a car while riding
his bike and disabled. So camp management is assisted by
family and repairs were in progress during our stay.



# Day 13



Early Morning at Los Petates campground.

Drove to Bahia Gonzaga after stopping in Guerrero Negro for more Tacos
del Muelle chow. Route 5 was smooth and fast. Gassed up and then
camped at Rancho Grande spending 400 pesos for a palapa.

# Day 14-15

Our goal was to drive to Canon Tajo via Laguna Hanson. Passed plenty
of nice beach campsites en route to Puertecitos. Gassed up in San
Felipe --- Chevron was 21.99 per liter and su dolar vale 18.02, I
recall. Route 3 was nice and smooth till around km 145 were a sudden
and seriously bad stretch of potholes appeared. From there till our
turnoff at km 55 it was off-and-on bad potholes. Gassed up at
Lazaro C-a-r-d-e-n-a-s.

At the km 55 turnoff to Laguna Hanson we passed some Mexicans who had
stayed at Laguna Hanson and reported the raod was passable. Lots of
bumps and holes in the road and increasing mud as we approached Laguna
Hanson. Last time we passed there was 2002 and I recall the Lake was
dry. Not this time; it was high enough to cover the road in places.



Laguna Hanson on Mar 27, 2023. Notice the water line is uphill of the fence.


Driving north the mud got worse and at 32.10541° N, 115.92379° W there
was a stream with a large pond with a mud bottom blocking the road. We
had seen no traffic for a good while and there was some timber and
debris suggesting difficulty by previous drivers, but there were fresh
tire tracks on the far and near sides, so we gave it a
go. Unfortunately, our line was not good, the right side sank almost
to the air intake, and we could not climb out of the
hole. Fortunately, we could reverse out of it. We got out to assess
the situation and a rancher on an ATV stopped by. He assured us we
could make it with a line about a car width left of where we got
stuck --- almost touching the wire fence of the ranch just upstream. I
stripped off two damaged splash guards. (Why attach plastic under a
steel skid plate? Seems like a design flaw.) I took off my trousers
and walked our ruts and closer to the fence and convinced myself it
would go. Judy walked around to the far side. I folded in the mirror
and drove through, but had to fight to stay near the fence without
crashing through it.



Staying in my lane --- you see daylight under the truck. Look closely to see how deep in the mud I was on first attempt.

We pulled into Bell camp (near Canon Tajo's
South Gulley) four hours after leaving Route 3 --- under 40 miles.

We enjoyed a nice sunset and a hot campfire, but could only make out
Venus among the four planets said to be in an unusual line from the
moon to the horizon. We had the camp to ourselves that night.



Bell dome at sunset.

We slept well in sub-freezing temperatures and restarted the fire in
the morning. I hiked to the overlook of the South Face of Trono
Blanco. I am now in my mid-70s and the rock hopping was quite
challenging. Judy's knees and shoulder prevented her from coming
along.

Back in camp we met Jason --- a climber from the Tahoe area escaping the
snows who just pulled in. He will stay there for some time in a camper
he adapted to a Silverado chassis. He said he once camped there for 5
weeks.



Jason's rig seems well suited to long, off-grid stays.

# Day 16

We left for Tecate and home. It has been 20 years since I last drove
the road up to La Rumorosa. I should have brought a compass as I
thought a turn in the road was sending me to Rancho El Topo
(southwards) --- actually we were headed west for a bit. Some grading had been done
in that area fairly recently.

We took old Route 2 Libre and discovered that it had significant
upgrades since we last used it --- passing lanes and paved shoulders -
much safer now than a few decades back. We dined in Tecate and the CBP
website said the border wait time was an hour. We crossed after 25
minutes in line. Hwy 94 is pretty this time of year.



Who could get lost with such great signage?

Anyway, we are home now and have plenty of good memories of our trip to pour over.

Best Regards to All.

Chuck

[Edited on 4-6-2023 by ChuckB]

[Edited on 4-6-2023 by ChuckB]

Quote: Originally posted by Maderita

Hey Chuck, Excellent trip report, thanks for posting! Good to hear from you. Saludos amigo. Here's ChuckB at Cañón del Tajo in the 1980s, making overhanging crack look easy. (Chuck, if you want the photo taken down, just let me know).

Wow, thanks, Maderita. I am amazed you could find and post that so quickly!

Can you photoshop my outfit to look cooler?

Maybe some current fashions and a nice set of tights?

Hope you and yours are well.

Best,
Chuck

Quote: Originally posted by David K

...(snip)... If you did not gas up in El Rosario, after Ensenada, did you buy it at Cataviña out of the jerry cans (quite a bit more expensive) or make it to Villa Jesus María Pemex? I am guessing the new station at Cataviña is still not open...? David